Title: Discovery of Australia by de Quiros in the Year 1606
Author: Patrick F. Cardinal Moran, Archbishop of Sydney.
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Discovery of Australia by de Quiros in the Year 1606

BY

PATRICK F. CARDINAL MORAN, Archbishop of Sydney.

Pedro Fernandez de Quiros was the least of the brilliant
galaxy of Portuguese and Spanish explorers who throughout two
centuries, by their maritime skill and enterprise, won immortal
fame for their respective countries, and extended far, to the
east and to the west the limits of Christian civilisation. He was
a Portuguese by birth, but at the period of which we treat
Portugal and Spain were united under the Spanish sceptre, and
hence it was under the Spanish flag and by the aid of the Spanish
court that he achieved his discoveries.

The most famous or his expeditions was that which led to the
discovery of the Great Austral Land in 1606. The original
sources, however, which would serve to illustrate this expedition
were little better than a sealed book to English readers, till
Mr. W. A. Duncan, Fellow of St. John's College, published in
Sydney, in 1874, the Spanish text and translation of an
interesting Memorial, addressed by De Quiros to the Spanish
monarch. A few years later Don Zaragosa, a distinguished Spanish
ecclesiastic, published at Madrid in three volumes the same
Memorial, together with several other invaluable con-temporary
documents illustrative of De Quiros's voyage. The learned
president of the Hakluyt Society, Sir Clements Markham, has
published in two volumes in London, for the Hakluyt Society, in
1904, a translation of these important records, with a valuable
introduction and several interesting notes.

Till within the last few years the opinion very generally
prevailed that the Island of Santo, the chief island of the New
Hebrides, was the Great Land discovered by De Quiros. In the
History of the Catholic Church in Australia I ventured to dissent
from that opinion, and since then several papers bearing on the
subject have appeared in the public press and in the Proceedings
of the Geographical Society of Melbourne.

{Page 2}

I propose in the present discourse to submit the claims of
Australia to be the Great Southern Land thus discovered it 1606
by De Quiros, and the better to proceed with order in the
inquiry, my remarks will be comprised under the following
heads:--

I. I will present to you from the original narratives some
extracts descriptive of the Great Southern Land which was
discovered by the Spanish explorer.

II. It will readily be seen that the data furnished by these
extracts are inconsistent with the claim of the Island of Santo
to be that newly-discovered land.

III. On the other hand these data are found to accurately fit
in with the claim of Port Curtis and the adjoining Queens-land
coast.

IV. Some arguments shall be considered that seem to favour the
Island of Santo's claim.

V. The difficulties will be solved that are advanced against
the Australian claim.

VI. We will thus be free to conclude by presenting some
interesting details of the expedition of De Quiros and of the
festivities with which he and his companions inaugurated the
discovery of this Australian Continent.

I.

1. I will take my first extracts from the 8th Memorial
presented by De Quiros to the Spanish King in 1607, published by
Sir Clements Markham. De Quiros thus writes (IL, 478):--

"The greatness of the land newly discovered, judging from what
I saw, and from what the captain, Don Luiz Vaez de Torres, the
Admiral under my command, reported to your Majesty, is well
established. Its length is as much as all Europe and Asia Minor
as far as the Caspian and Persia, with all the islands of the
Mediterranean and the ocean which en-compasses, including the two
islands of England and Ireland. That hidden part is' one-fourth
of the world, and of such capacity that double the kingdoms and
provinces of which your Majesty is at present the Lord could fit
into it, and this without any neighbourhood of Turks or Moors, or
others of the nations which are prone to cause disquiet and
unrest on their borders."

He represents the discovered lands to be "antipodal to the
greater part of Africa, to all Europe, and to greater Asia. The
houses are of wood, roofed with palm leaves. They use pots

{Page 3}

of clay, weave cloths, and have clothing and mats of reed.
They work Stone marble, and make flutes, drums, and spoons of
varnished wood." (Sir Clements Markham has stone and marble, but
there is no "and" in the original text, p. 480.) "The bread they
have is made from three kinds of roots, of which there is great
abundance, and they grow without labour, receiving no more help
than being dug up and cooked. These roots are pleasant to the
taste, very nourishing, and keep for a long time. They are a yard
long and half a yard thick. The fruits are numerous and good.
There are bananas of six kinds, a great number of almonds of four
kinds, great obos, which are of the size and taste of peaches,
many earth-nuts, oranges and lemons, which the natives do not
eat, and another great fruit; and others not less good that were
seen and eaten, as well as many and very large sweet canes. The
riches are silver and pearls which I myself saw, and gold which
was seen by the other Captain, as he says in his report...They
have goats, and there were indications of cows...I declare that
all that was seen and has been described is on the sea shore; so
that it may be hoped that in the heart of the country such and so
great riches will be found as are foreshadowed by what has
already been seen. It is to be observed that my chief object was
only to seek for the great land that 1 found...The comfort and
pleasant life in such a land might be increased by the
cultivation of its black, rich soil, by the erection of brick
houses, by proper clothing, by working the marble quarries from
which sumptuous and elegant edifices could be raised, and a land
in which there is an abundance of timber for all sorts of work;
where there are sites of plains, valleys and ridges, undulations,
high mountains and thickets; and in which there are murmuring
streams and springs; where might be erected any number of
wind-mills, water-mills, sugar-mills, and other water engines;
salt pits and sugar plantations. The sugar-canes, which grow to
five or six palms and under, and the fruit in proportion, are
witnesses of the richness of the soil. A slender, hard and smooth
stone makes as good flints as can be, had in Madrid. The Bay of
SS. Philip and James contains 20 leagues (60 miles) of shore, and
is quite limpid, and is free to enter by day or night; it is
surrounded by a large population; at a very great distance is
seen by day much smoke, and at night many fires. The port of Vera
Cruz (Holy Cross) is so

{Page 4}

capacious that it would contain at anchor 1000 ships. Us
bottom is clear, and consists of dark sand. The worm that is so
destructive to ships was not seen. Ships may be anchored at any
depth from 4 to 4 fathoms, midway between two rivers, one of them
(the Jordan) as large as the Guadalquivir, in Seville, with a bar
of more than two fathoms, which frigates and patamars may cross.
Our barques entered the other river freely, and took in fresh
water, which is delicious in whatever part, out of the numerous
streams there are, The landing place extends for three leagues
and more on a strand of black pebbles, small and heavy, which
would be very good for ships' ballast. The coast contains neither
ruins nor rocks; the herbs on its banks are green; you hear not
the sound of the tide; and as the trees are straight and not
torn, I conclude there are no great tempests in that land.
Moreover, this port, besides being so airy and pleasant,%has
another great excellence for recreation, that. from the break of
dawn you hear a very great army of warbling birds, some having
the appearance of nightingales, larks, goldfinches,'and an
infinity of swallows, parroquets, and a coloured parrot that was
seen, besides a great many other birds of different kinds, and
the shrill note of the locusts and grasshoppers. At morning and
evening the sweetest smells are enjoyed from many kinds of
flowers, among which are the orange and lemon blossoms; and I
consider that all these and other effects are due to the
excellence and regularity of the climate. At this port and bay
are many excellent islands, several of which may be especially
mentioned which subtend 200 leagues. One of them, about 12
leagues distant, is 50 leagues in circumference, and is very
fertile and populous. And in conclusion, Sire, I say that in that
bay and port a large and populous city may be built, and the
people who will inhabit it may readily enjoy all riches and
conveniences which, my small ability does not enable me to set
forth. I do not exaggerate if I say that it can maintain and
accommodate 200,000 Spaniards."

He further adds: "The temperature and salubrity of the air is
seen in all that has been said, and in this, that we all being
strangers, none fell ill during a time of working, sweating, and
being wet through, without care about drinking water while
fasting, nor about eating whatever the land produced, nor by the
dew or sun or moon. The sun was not very hot

{Page 5}

by day, and from midnight onwards woollen clothes were sought,
and very well suffered to be worn. The natives as a rule are
strong and stout. Some are very old."

2. In a further Memorial presented to the King in 1601, he
styles the land he had discovered a great land, "its double range
of mountains and the River Jordan from its size appear to furnish
evidence of the great. extent of the land." Besides Europe, Asia
and Africa, there are only two great portions of the earth: "The
first is America, which Christoval Colon discovered; the second
and last of the world is that which I have seen, and solicit to
people, and completely to discover for your Majesty."

He wishes it to be added to the royal realms "with the grand
title of Australia del Espiritu Santo."

He ends: "If his suspicions led Christopher Columbus to
complain, for me, what I saw, what I felt, and what I offer,
makes me importunate."

3. One of the most interesting documents published by Zaragosa
and Markham is a history of the Voyages of De Quiros compiled
from his diaries by his secretary, Belmonte Bermudez, but signed
and authenticated by De Quiros himself. From this narrative I
glean the following extracts:--

On the 3rd of May, 1606, "the three vessels anchored in the
port with great joy, giving many thanks to God...The Master of
the Camp was sent to examine the mouth of the river, which is in
the middle of the bay, with the launch, a boat and a party of
men. He tried the depth of the river mouth, and found that there
was no bottom, with the length of an oar and his own arm. He went
further up in the boat, and the view of the river gave much
pleasure to those who were with him, as well for its size and the
clearness of the water as for its gentle current and the beauty
of the trees on its banks."

They landed and found a small village; "they also found a
flute, and certain small things worked out of pieces of marble
and jasper...The bay has a circuit of 20 leagues, at the entrance
four leagues across...In tie middle there is a river, which was
judged to be the size of the Guadalquivir at Seville. At its
mouth the depth is two and more fathoms; so that boats and even
frigates could enter. It received the name of the Jordan. On its
right is seen the Southern Cross

{Page 6}

in the heavens, which makes the spot noteworthy. To the
eastward, at the corner of the bay, there is another
moderate-sized river called Salvador, into which the boats
entered at their pleasure to get water. The waters of both rivers
are sweet, pleasant and fresh. The one is distant from the other
a league and a half, consisting of a beach of black gravel, with
small heavy stones, excellent for ballast for a ship. Between the
two rivers is the port. The bread they use is mainly of
roots...The rind is grey, the Pulp murrey colour, yellow, or
reddish; some much larger than others (yarns). There are some a
yard and a half in thickness, also two kinds; one almost round,
and the size of two fists, more or less. Their taste resembles
the potatoes of Peru. The inside of the other is white, its form
and size that of a cob of maize when stripped.

Our people ate a great deal; and being of a pleasant taste and
satisfying, they left off the ship's biscuit for them. These
roots last so long without getting bad, that on reaching Acapulco
those that were left were quite good. We heard, when on board at
early dawn, a sweet harmony from thousands of different birds,
apparently buntings, blackbirds, nightingales, and others. The
mornings and afternoons were enjoy-able from the pleasant odours
emitted from trees and many kinds of flowers, together with the
sweet basil. A bee was also seen, and harvest flies were heard
buzzing.

"The climate appeared to be very healthy, both from the vigour
and size of the natives, as because none of our men be-came ill
all the time we were there, nor felt any discomfort, nor tired
from work...I am, able to say with good reason that a land more
delightful, healthy and fertile; a site better supplied with
quarries, timber, clay for tiles, bricks for founding a great
city-on the sea, with a port and a good river on a plain, with
level lands near the hills, ridges, and ravines; nor better
adapted to raise plants and all that Europe and the Indies
produce, could not be found. No port could be found more
agreeable, nor better supplied with all necessaries, with-out any
drawbacks, nor with such advantages for dockyards in which to
build ships, nor forests more abundant in suitable timber good
for futtock timbers, houses, compass timbers, beams, planks, and
yards, Nor is there any other land that could sustain so many
strangers so pleasantly, if what has been written is well
considered. Nor does any other land have what this

{Page 7}

land has close by, at hand, and in sight of its port; for
quite near there are seven islands, with coasts extending for 200
leagues, apparently with the same advantages, and which have so
many, and such good signs, that they may be sought for and found
without shoals or other obstacles, while nearly half-way there
are other known islands, with inhabitants and ports where
anchorages may be found. I have never seen, anywhere where I have
been, nor have heard of such adavantages...

If we look round the coast of Spain, so good a port will not
be found...It is to be noted that a cross, which had been left on
the banks of the river Salvador, was found raised in its place,
and that the natives had put branches and flowers round it."

He further writes that having come out from the port for
departure "owing to the force of the wind, the ship, having
little sail on, and her head E.X.E., lost ground to such an
extent that we found ourselves 20 leagues to leeward of the port,
all looking at those high mountains with sorrow at not being able
to get near them."

On their return to the port of Acapulco (in Mexico), the cross
of orange wood was presented to the Church of the Franciscans. It
was on the 8th of December; feast of the Int. Conception, that
the captain, "with the greatest solemnity possible, took the
cross from the ship to the sea shore and delivered it to the
Father Guardian." It was fastened to the high altar, and to mark
the occasion there was "ringing of bells, sound of trumpets, and
discharge of guns and arquebuses and muskets by the soldiers. All
the people showed their joy; and not less did the captain,
although he desired to go to Rome and put this cross in the hands
of the Pontiff, and tell him that it was the first that had been
raised in those new lands in the name of the Catholic
Church."

4. De Torres, who was second in command of the expedition of
De Quiros, addressed a letter to the King in 1607, giving some
account of the voyage and of its various incidents.

Of the Bay he writes: "This Bay is very refreshing, and in it
fall many and large rivers. In circuit it is 25 leagues. We named
it the Bay de San Felipe y Santiago, and the land that of
Espiritu Santo...At length we sailed from this bay, in conformity
to the order, although with intention, to sail, round this
island; but the season and the strong currents would

{Page 8}

not allow this, although I ran, along a great part of it. In
what I saw. there are very large mountains. It has many ports,
though some of them are small., All of it is well watered with
rivers. We had at this time nothing but bread and water: it was
the height of winter, with sea, wind, and ill-will (of the crew)
against us. All this did not prevent me reaching the mentioned
latitude (30 deg. S.), which I passed one degree, and would have
gone further if the weather had permitted; for the ship was
good...Going into the said latitude on a. S.W. course, we had no
signs of land that way. From thence I stood back to the N.W. to
11 1/2 S. Latitude; there we fell in with the beginning of N.
Guinea. I could not weather the E. point, so I coasted along to
the westward on the S. side."

5. We have also the diary of Gaspar de Leza, who was Chief
Pilot of the expedition, and whose shrewd incidental remarks are
particularly interesting. He writes that the Bay "received the
names of St. Philip and St. James, the 1st of May, the day of
discovery, being the day of those apostles. The bay is very large
and beautiful, and all the fleets of the world might enter
it."

2nd May. The General said: "that there were signs of great
things in that bay; for although we had been two days within it,
we had not yet seen the end of it, because it was so large."

4th May. "At two in the afternoon our General went, with the
two boats and an armed party, to see the river. Coasting along it
was seen that there were many streams flowing from a beautiful
plain, on which cities might be built, for it must have been ten
leagues in extent. In another part there were many hills, high
and low, with beautiful plains. In most of those hills, except
the main range, one might ride on horse-back over them.

5th May. "Our boat went further along the coast and discovered
another river, which flows very grandly over the plain, so that
frigates could go up to it. This river flows into the middle of
the bay, about a league from the other where we were anchored,
and there were several streams."

8th May. "Our tender went to examine the coast, and reported
that they had coasted along and had seen beautiful plains and
rivers that fell into the sea, and that all was well peopled by
natives, who came out on the beach to see them.

{Page 9}

They seemed to, cover the land, for up to the mountain tops
all was inhabited. The land is so fertile that it yields plenty
of food, and it is so fresh that it obliges a man to cover
him-self with a blanket, a state of things to which we were not
at all accustomed."

10th May. "We returned to the shore, and, marching in-land,
came to their houses, finding them abandoned. From the sea, by
the inland forest, the distance is about half a league. Round the
houses were many fruit trees, with inter-twined palisades, by
reason of the great quantity of pigs. All was very well arranged,
the houses and yards being very clean. We found many fruits and
trees of different sorts...The road is very clean and well
shaded, and there are beautiful streams of water. From midnight
until morning there is a pleasant coolness, which makes a blanket
welcome."

11th May. "We found ballast as good as that of Callao, and
just like it, consisting of small pebbles."

14th May. Feasts of Pentecost. He gives the names of the
municipality and officers appointed for the new city to be
founded.

17th May. "We climbed up a high mountain very silently, and
from the top we discovered a beautiful plain. On descending to it
we found much nutmeg and almonds of a different kind, for the
rind smells like an apple, and another fruit with smell and taste
like a nectarine. Of all these fruits the woods were full, and
there is scarcely a tree in all this land that is not of some
use, so that here one might live in great luxury."

19th May. "This day in the morning, and the day before at"
night, there were great tremblings of the earth, some of them
lasting an hour, and we felt them on board our ships, as if they
were bumping on some rock. From this we concluded that where
there are such great earthquakes it must be the mainland, as it
also seemed from the mountain ranges. As soon as we came on
board, our General wanted a party to go and fish at the great
river, to which the name of Jordan was given. The river whence we
got the water was named Salvador."

20th May. We went to the river Jordan, which is two leagues
from the port where the ships were at anchor...Our people found
great quantities of fruit trees, and much food with which these
natives are well supplied. Great quantities

{Page 10}

of fish were caught. Ships might enter this river, if they
were built like the frigates of Carthagena."

28th May. "We started in the morning, coasting along the land
to windward, that is, to S.E. and E.S.F., to make out for certain
whether it was the mainland

29th May. "On account of many of the crews being sick (from
eating poisoned fish) they returned to the bay. This was at 7
o'clock in the morning, and by 4 o'clock in the after-noon the
ships had anchored. This was good luck, for the distance from the
entrance to the bay to the anchorage is six or seven leagues, and
the first time we were three days working up the

June 5th. "We were ready to start next day to examine 200 or
300 leagues of coast, surveying all, laying down positions of
ports and anchorages, with soundings, rocks and banks, and
latitudes."

6. Torquemada, who was Provincial of the Franciscans in
Mexico, and derived his information from De Quiros and the
chaplains of the expedition, published in 1614 a lengthened
account of the celebrated voyage. He attests that the boats
brought the report of "a very wide hay, sheltered from all
winds...The captain and pilot, having heard the report on this
bay, and of another great bay to leeward, ordered sail to be set;
and so they proceeded, with no small joy.\ Ail had now been
accomplished according to their desires, holding in their hands
the most abundant and powerful land ever discovered by
Spaniards...Presently the boat went to seek a convenient port,
and brought news that there was one with soundings from four to
six fathoms, all sand and clean, between the mouths of two
rivers...As it was late they waited for another day, the 3rd of
May, when they anchored, calling the port La Vera Cruz, and the
land La Austral del Espiritu Santo."

"The port is between two rivers, and they gave one the name of
Jordan, and the other the name of Salvador. Their banks are of no
small beauty, for they are full of sweet flowers and herbs. The
beaches of this bay are wide, long and flat.

In all parts facing the sea there are cool and pleasant groves
extending to the sides of numerous hills, and even to the summit
of one which was ascended by our people. These dills divide most
fertile level valleys, which are picturesque,

{Page 11}

while the green bills are traversed by various rivers. The
whole is a land which, without any doubt, has the advantage of
America and of the greater part of our Europe." He further
assigns the circuit of the Bay as 27 leagues, and the en-trance
as having an expanse of eight leagues.

7. One of the most interesting records connected with tile ?e
Quiros expedition is the manorial of Juan Luis Arias, a lawyer of
Santiago in Chile, addressed to King Philip III. of Spain. He
derived his information from the Franciscan Fathers who
accompanied the expedition, and his memorial was written soon
after the death of De Quires in 1615. He styles the newly
discovered land "the Austral hemisphere," and he describes the
harbour in which De Quiros landed as a magnificent expanse of
water. "The land on the side that he first came upon ran from E.
to W. It appeared to be more than 100 leagues (300 miles) long;
the country was very populous, and although the people were dark,
they were very well-favoured. There wore also many plantations of
trees, and the temperature was so mild that they seemed to be in
Paradise: the air also was so healthy that in a few days after
they arrived all the men who were sick recovered. The land

produced most abundantly many kinds of very delicious fruits,
as well as animals and birds in great variety. The bay was no
less abundant in fish of excellent flavour and of all the
kinds

which are found on the coast of the sea in Spain. The natives
ate for bread certain roots like the batata (the yam), either
roasted or boiled, which, when the Spaniards tasted, they found
them better eating and more sustaining than biscuit."

He subsequently states that De Quiros reached the 26 deg. of
S. Latitude, and adds: "The land of the Bay of San Felipe y
Santiago showed very great signs of its being the coast of the
southern continent; as much by its great extent as by there being
visible from it, looming at a great distance, cordilleras of very
lofty mountains, of very agreeable aspect; and by the fact of two
rivers falling into the bay, one as large as the Guadalquivir,
and the other not quite as broad; all signs of a continent, or at
least of a very spacious and deep country approaching to a
continent."

II.

The data which these extracts present cannot be reconciled
with the Island of Santo's claims.

{Page 12}

1. The dimensions of Santo are given by Findlay in his "South
Pacific Ocean Directory," published for the Admiralty in London
in 1884. The Island of Santo, he tells us, is 65 miles in its
greatest length, and about half that extent in its greatest
width. Sir Clements Markham, in his Introduction, writes that
Santo has a big bay, but is a small island. Some time ago one of
our Sydney morning newspapers published a letter from a
Protestant missionary, in which, he described his excursion
across the island from shore to shore in one day.

Now it is quite absurd to suppose that expert explorers such
as De Quiros and his companions were would be stationed at Santo
for 36 days, and some of them for an additional term of 15 days,
without their realising how limited was its extent. They describe
the discovered land as of vast expanse, larger than Europe, even
with Asia Minor and the Mediterranean added to it. One of its
valleys that was spread out before them was 10 leagues (that is,
30 miles) in extent. They sailed along the coast for 100 leagues
(300 miles), and felt assured, by its many rivers and
well-sheltered ports, and by the splendid cordilleras that were
seen in the distance, that they had alighted upon a vast
continent. No rivers as are described in the ex-tracts can be
found in Santo.

2. The Island of Santo is proud of its "big bay," but even
this cannot be said to bear any proportion to the vast bay of SS.
Philip and James, which was entered by De Quiros on 1st of May in
1606. The bay thus discovered was 20 leagues (60 miles) in
length, and, according to De Torres, it was 25 leagues (75 miles)
in circuit. One of the narratives gives it a circuit of 27
leagues, that would be 81 miles. The entrance to the Bay had an
extent of eight leagues (24 miles), and at the entrance to the
port it was four leagues (12 miles) broad. The pilot
enthusiastically cries out that all the ships of the world would
find room in that magnificent bay. How different are the
proportions which Santo's bay presents! Findlay writes (p. 748)
that the circuit of the bay of Santo is "about 36 miles." Sir
Clements Markham (I. 273) inserts a report on the bay by Dr.
Corney, a member of the Hakluyt Society, who visited it in 1876.
He writes: "The depth or extent of the bay itself, from its chord
formed by the imaginary E. and W. line drawn

{Page13}

through Cape Quiros, seemed to me about a dozen miles, and it
is of similar width."

Mr. Panton, presiding at a meeting of the Geographical Society
of Melbourne (Vol. xix., p. 80) in 1901, gave some. further
details: "I have this day had the pleasure of meeting with the
Rev. Mr. Paton, the well-known missionary of the New Hebrides,
who, during 42 years' residence in that group, had often visited
Santo. He informed me that the bay is 10 miles in depth, and
about four or five miles across at the en-trance; that it is
surrounded by wooded hills; that no distant sierra is to be seen
from it; and that the one small river running into the Bay is
named by the natives Yeor."

The bay discovered by De Quiros afforded safe anchorage, was
"limpid and free to enter by day or by night," and was free from
hurricanes. In Dr. Corney's description of Santo Bay (I. 274) we
read: "The west shore of this bay rises steeply from the water
throughout most of its extent...The anchorage, is not exposed
either from E.N.E. or E.S.E., but from N.W. to N. and N.E. it is
unsafe. Findlay writes of Santo Bay (p. 749): "The approach to
Santo is not without its dangers...Hurricanes prevail during the
whole of the wet season."

The discovered bay in its wide expanse faced the East,
extending from N. to S. On the contrary, Santo Bay faces the
north, extending from W. to E.

3. De Quiros particularly refers to the two rivers which flow
into the bay, adjoining the port, the one as large as the
Guadalquivir at Seville, the other not so large; both navigable,
not to boats only, but to light frigates. Now at Santo there are
several streams, but only one river. In the passage already cited
by Mr. Panton, the Protestant missionary attests that there is
but "one small river running into the bay." A Scotch planter of
the New Hebrides, who was shipwrecked at Santo, and was compelled
to spend several weeks on the island, writes: "Nowhere in Santo
are there any such, rivers as are described by De Quiros in his
account of the Tierra Australis; the tendency of all the streams
on this island is to spread into shallows near the beach; that
was my experience of them, and I have waded through them by day,
and slept on their banks by night." ("Australasian Catholic
Record," January, 1902.)

{Page 14}

4. What caused joy in a special manner to the Spanish
explorers was that within the bay they found a splendid harbour,
to which they gave the name of Vera Cruz, capable of safe
anchorage for 1000 vessels. No such harbour is to be found at
Santo Bay. Findlay curtly remarks: "The port of Vera Cruz is not
to be found in it." Mr. Collingridge, in his most interesting
"Discovery of Australia" (Sydney, 1895), also gives the statement
of a venerable Marist missionary, who spent many years in the New
Hebrides, that "there is no such port at Santo."

5. De Quiros and his associates refer to the fine strand
connected with this port and extending between the two rivers;
and they make particular mention of the heavy black pebbles
strewn on this strand, "admirably suited for ships' ballast."
Nothing of all this is to be met with at Santo.

6. The narratives from which I have given extracts refer to
the singular healthiness of the newly discovered land. Now
Findlay writes of Santo (p. 749): "The climate from the
luxuriance of the vegetation and the dampness of the soil seems
much less adapted to European constitutions than the Polynesian
islands, whose natives also suffer here from dysentery, fever and
ague." The missionaries' reports confirm this statement. Mr.
Bevan, addressing the Geographical Society of Melbourne in May,
1900, while eulogising the appearance of Santo, admitted the
prevalence of "malaria and perpetual enervating heat," which made
it unfit for Europeans.

7. No large islands are in sight from Santo Bay. De Quiros
relates of the bay which he discovered that within view were
seven islands, and midway to them other inhabitable islands. The
circuit of the seven islands would be about 200 leagues, and one
of them was 50 leagues (150 miles) in circumference, almost as
large as the Island of Santo itself. The precision with which
those Spanish explorers set forth the expanse of the islands off
the discovered coast is a sure argument for their accuracy when
they report the vast extent of the Great Southern Land.

8. De Quiros writes regarding the resources of the discovered
land: "The riches are silver and pearls, which I saw, and gold
which was seen by the other captain, as he says in his report."
Findlay reports that in Santo there is nothing to indicate

{Page 15}

any such riches; "no trace has been found of silver or
gold.

9. The various species of fishes which were found by the
Spanish explorers are set forth in detail. Some of these, for
instance the salmon and the pig-fish, are not to be found at
Santo, but they have their habitat on the Australian coast.

10. Mention is made of the facilities for building which the
marble quarries of the newly discovered land would pre-sent. No
marble is to be found in Santo.

11. Findlay writes of Santo (p. 766): "It rather partakes of
the character of an archipelago than a single island, from the
numerous islands clustered around its shores." Such a prominent
feature would not have escaped the careful inspection of De
Quiros and his companions.

12. In describing the interesting features of the newly
discovered land, the Spanish writers could not but have dwelt
upon the attractiveness and beauty of its coral surroundings,
were Santo the land to which they refer. Santo is justly classed
among "the summer isles of Eden, in dark purple spheres of sea."
Mr. Theodore F. Bevan, in his discourse al-ready referred to, at
the meeting of the Geographical Society at Melbourne, in May,
1900, describes the vision that must have presented itself to the
enraptured gaze of De Quiros when approaching Santo: "Ocean floor
bestrewn with emerald pearl and turquoise; rosy, like waking
Venus, and after age-long sleep in blue Pacific depth the Great
Cyclades uprose, homage to pay to their discoverer." All this
could not have been for-gotten by De Quiros and his
companions.

III.

The data furnished by the various memorials of De Quiros and
his fellow-explorers fit in accurately with the claim of Port
Curtis and the adjoining coast to be the Great Southern Land of
their discovery.

1. To the newly discovered land they assigned the dimensions
of a Continent. Such is Australia. We, must bear in mind that,
believing it to be the long-sought-for Southern Continent, they
would, in accordance with the current ideas in those days, extend
its southern boundary to the Antarctic circle. With such limits,
De Quiros might most justly estimate that it would exceed Europe
even with Asia Minor and the Mediterranean

{Page 16}

superadded, and that it might justly be ranked a% a fourth
part of the explored world.

2. The magnificent expanse of water, including Keppel Bay and
Port Curtis, has an extent of about GO miles, and its circuit
along the coast adds at least 15 miles to its length. The width
of Keppel Bay at its entrance is about 24 miles, and that of Port
Curtis is 12 miles. These measurements correspond in a general
way with those that are assigned to De Quiros's discovery.

3. The Boyne and Calliope Rivers correspond to the two rivers
described by De Quiros. Their position "midway in the bay,"
adjoining the anchorage, and the distance of about six miles
between the mouths of the rivers, correspond to the description
given in the extracts. De Torres writes that other rivers also
fall into the bay, and here we have the Fitzroy and other smaller
rivers. It might at first cause surprise that De Quiros would not
make special reference to so important a river as the Fitzroy.
But we must bear in mind he was in search of anchorage and of
navigable rivers. The Boyne and Calliope were just the rivers
that met his wishes. The Fitzroy, with its rocky approaches,
repelled the Spanish navigators, and it was only when the rocks
were cleared at considerable expense in latter times that it
became at all navigable.

4. Port Curtis, or as it is at present more generally called,
Port Gladstone, is precisely such as would captivate the heart of
De Quiros. "A thousand ships could find anchorage here," is his
description of the newly discovered port. It will be remarked as
a singular coincidence that some years ago Mr. Nesbitt, examining
the coast harbours on the part of the Government, officially
reported in almost identical words: "The harbour of Port Curtis
offers safe anchorage for 1000 of the largest vessels
afloat."

In an official despatch of Colonel Barney to the Government
under date 20th July, 1847, we read: "The position and extent of
Port Curtis, which I take to be the third harbour in importance
in these seas, inferior only to Port Jackson and Hobart Town,
must shortly lead to an establishment on its shores."

5. A remarkable feature of the strand at Port Curtis is that
it is strewn with "black heavy pebbles" such as De Quiros
describes. These are the "Manganese bubbles," as they are

{Page 17}

locally designated. The editor of the "Gladstone Advocate," in
a letter to me, writes: "Manganese abounds in this district.
Fragments of this mineral, black and heavy; are strewn all over
the shore line when the tide goes out." I may add that one of the
richest mines of Manganese has its opening close to the present
harbour landing place at Gladstone.

6. There is no question as to the healthiness of the
Queensland coast, and to the invigorating influence of its
atmosphere, particularly in the months of May and June, which was
the time of De Quiros's sojourn there.

7. The seven islands within sight, and other inhabited islands
half-way, are a distinctive feature of Keppel Bay and Port
Curtis. One of the distant islands, with a circuit of 50 leagues
(150 miles), corresponds to Curtis Island. Facing Island, in
front of Gladstone, was inhabited by the natives till a
comparatively late period.

8. Needless to say that signs of silver and gold are no
strangers along the Queensland coast.

9. I have referred to the salmon and pig-fish, which are
particularly referred to by De Quiros, but for which we search in
vain at Santo. On the other hand, we find that the Queens-land
rivers and coast abound with them. All visitors to Queensland are
familiar with the pig-fish. As regards the salmon, an expert
correspondent writes to me: "The most remarkable fresh-water fish
in Queensland is the famous Burnett Salmon (ceratodus Forsteri).
This salmon of De Quiros belongs to the Dipnoid fishes, of which
there are only two other species in evidence, one in the Amazon,
the other in South Africa. The existence of this fish in the
(islands of the) South Seas is absolutely unknown to science."
Mr. Stead, in.. "Fishes of Australia" (Sydney, 1906), refers to
this particular species of salmon as frequenting the Burnett
River, and also the Mary River, in Queensland.

10. Marble, and especially building marble, and limestone are
abundant in Gladstone and its neighbourhood, and also in some of
the islands off the harbour.

Seeing that the data furnished by the Spanish explorers fit in
in such a singular manner with the Gladstone district and the
Queensland coast, we feel justified in concluding that the Great
Southern Land which was discovered by them was none other than
our Australian Continent.

{Page 18}

IV.

Two arguments are advanced in favour of the Santo Island,
which at first seem quite conclusive, but which, when more
closely examined, are found to merit no attention.

1. The first argument is as follows:-The various narratives
assign the Latitude 15 deg. 15 min. South as the exact position
of the landing place in the newly discovered land. This leads us
to Santo.

We must bear in mind, however, that in those days the maritime
explorers in their published reports were careful to conceal the
accurate latitude and longitude of the lands which they
discovered, thus to lead astray their rival explorers and to
prevent their appropriating the advantages of their discovery.
This ruse of the early Spanish and Dutch navigators is referred
to in the introduction to the first volume, of the Hakluyt
series. Our own Australian Ernest Favenc, in his excellent "Story
of Australian Exploration," p. 18 (Sydney, 1888), remarks that
"the jealousy with which the maritime nations of Europe guarded
their discoveries from each other has been the means of putting
great difficulties in the way of tracing out the early traditions
of the great South Land...

The generous emulation in the cause of scientific discovery
was unknown, and the secrets of the sea were scrupulously
kept."

Sir Clements Markham also remarks that "the Spanish Government
jealously concealed the knowledge acquired by their great
explorers" (I. xxviii.).

One of my critics has indeed remarked that though such
jealousy prevailed in the early days of exploration, it had
disappeared before the period of which we now treat. But it is
quite the reverse. Never, perhaps, were the secrets of discovery
more jealously guarded than at this very period.

In the narrative of his voyage, drawn up by his secretary but
signed by himself, De Quiros adds, regarding his discovery (I.
157): "I beg you to keep it secret, for man does not know what
time brings."

In the volumes just published by Sir Clements Markham we find
(II., 516) a Memorial to the King of Spain accusing De Quiros of
indiscretion in giving an account of his discoveries, "a
proceeding which may cause serious inconvenience, from the
information that foreigners way be able to gather, and thus send
notices of those lands and of the navigation to their

{Page 19}

countrymen." The King on 31st October, 1610, with his own
hand, gave the order: "Tell the same Quiros to collect these
papers, and give them with secrecy to the officers of the Council
of the Indies, for these things are not to pass through many
hands."

2. The second argument is one on which our worthy citizen, Mr.
Collingridge, and the secretary of the Geographical Society
mainly rely. The map of the newly-discovered land, which was
drawn by Diego de Prado y Tobar, and was for-warded by him to the
Spanish. King from Goa on the 24th December, 1613, has at length
come to light. It unmistakably presents to us the Santo
Island.

I at once admit that this map of Prado y Tobar represents the
Island of Santo, and I also admit that Prado y Tobar formed part
of the expedition of De Quiros. Mr. Collingridge styles him the
cartographer of the expedition, but of this high position there
is no mention in the contemporary records. On the contrary, in
two published lists (I., 254; IT., 382) he is assigned the office
of storekeeper of the projected settlement, He pursued De Quiros
with singular venom and undisguised hostility. De Torres, in his
narrative, finds fault with De Quiros for his lenity in dealing
with offenders. Only two members of his company had been punished
by him during the voyage, and he only inflicted on them the
trivial punishments of transferring them to his ship when they
merited the gravest chastisement. One of these offenders was
Prado y Tobar. All through De Quiros's subsequent career we find
that this offender pursued him with unceasing enmity. Sr Clements
Markham describes him as a mutinous officer, and again calls him
the enemy, and the malignant enemy of De Quiros. (I., xvi.,
xxix., xxxii.).

Two letters of his are published by Sir C. Markham. They
accompanied the map on which my critics now rely in these letters
he calls De Quiros an impostor, a liar, and a fraud (II., 511,
seqq.), who discovered nothing "but some reefs and small
islands," and who should be wholly discredited in the statements
of his Memorials and in his pretence to having found the great
Austral Land. The map which he forwards is part and parcel of
this attempt to discredit De Quiros. From the very outset similar
attempts had been made. On his arrival in Mexico after his
eventful voyage, De Quiros writes (I., 311)

{Page 20}

that "there were persons who, to gratify their evil passions,
wrote to the Viceroy of Mexico, and sowed many letters all over
the land, trying to misrepresent and discredit the expedition."
So prejudiced were some members of the Council against him that
he was, regarded "as a very dangerous man who might sell his
knowledge and services to the English." (I., xxxv.).

That Santo was one of the islands discovered by De Quiros is
unquestionable, and it is no less certain that the map forwarded
from Goa in 1613 represents the Santo island; but when Prado y
Tobar forwards the map of Santo as proof that the statements of
the captain regarding his discovery of the great Austral Land
were without foundation, I cannot but regard it as an additional
argument in favour of my contention, that Santo cannot be the
grand Austral continent of which De Quiros speaks and of which he
claimed to be the discoverer.

V.

Some difficulties that have been urged against the claims of
Port Curtis now demand our attention.

1. It has been remarked that some of the products commemorated
by De Quiros, when he speaks of the "yams, oranges, limes,
papans, almonds, nutmegs, mace, ginger and pepper," are not
indigenous to the Queensland coast. We must bear in mind,
however, that De Quiros refers to these as pro-ducts of the
various islands and other lands which he had discovered, and not
as characteristic of the territory around the harbour of Vera
Cruz. The pioneers who explored the Port Curtis district in the
middle of the last century found abundance of fruits among the
natives. Mr. Friend, who was one of those explorers, writes to me
that around Port Curtis "in the early days there were yams
growing there and many kinds of wild fruits, even bread-fruit and
wild bananas." Another expert attests that in the Gladstone
district there are three varieties of the citrus, and that there
is also a so-called wild plum (solanum) with a fine bloom on the
fruit. A gentleman connected with the Department of Agriculture
in Brisbane also writes: "As to indigenous fruits, the principal
one is the Eugenia Myrtifolia, which bears a quantity of fruit.
The Government Botanist here informs me that there are hundreds
of these trees, and some settlers make the fruit into jam." All
this

{Page 21}

harmonises perfectly with the accounts given by the Spanish
explorers.

2. It has been argued, however, by Mr. Favenc that the
explorers found in the land of their discovery a rich and fertile
soil and all the requirements for a flourishing settlement. Now,
he says, the territory around Port Curtis is the reverse of all
this. He cites the words of Oxley, who, in 1823, having anchored
in Port Curtis looking for a site for a convict settlement,
reported to the Government as follows: "Having viewed and
examined with the most anxious attention every point that
afforded the least promise of being eligible for the site of a
settlement, I respectfully submit it as my opinion that Port
Curtis and its vicinity do not afford such a site; and I do not
think that any convict establishment could be formed there that
would return, either from the natural productions of the country
or as arising from agricultural labour, any portion of the great
expense that would necessarily attend its formation." It should
be a sufficient reply to Mr. Oxley's report that he visited the
country under very exceptional circumstances, and that the
Government, as a matter of fact, ignored his report and proceeded
to carry out the convict settlement which was projected
there.

Another critic cites the testimony of "the Police Magistrate"
at Gladstone, to the effect that, "speaking generally, there is
not a decent piece of land around Port Curtis." This, indeed,
would not be consistent with the statement of De Quiros that
there was excellent land for every sort of cultivation in the
district which he explored. However, it has been often remarked
that Police Magistrates are not always the best or the most
expert judges as regards the quality of land in their respective
districts; and the present instance does not appear to be an
exception to the rule. The editor of the "Gladstone Advocate," on
February 16th, 1901, makes short work of the difficulty. He thus
writes:

"It has been said that, speaking generally, there is not a
decent piece of land around Gladstone. That, we think, is a
question of horizon. If we limit our view to the town itself, and
a few miles of its environments, the land is only reasonably
good, with only patches of excellent quality. But if we take the
Gladstone district generally such a statement is untrue. There is
no finer land in Queensland-we might say Australia-than

{Page 22}

that which is to be found along the valleys of the Boyne and
Calliope. It is marvellously rich and prolific, and suitable for
agricultural or pastoral purposes. The close settlement which is
now going on in the Gladstone district is proof of the excellent
quality of the land."

In the earlier days of colonisation the same condition of the
country was officially recognised, and I will cite one authority
which cannot but be regarded as conclusive in this matter.

In the "Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake," by
Macgillivray' (published under the sanction of the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, London, 1852), is inserted an
extract from a despatch of Colonel Barney, under date, Sydney,
20th July, 1847, relative to a proposed settlement at Gladstone
(p. 52):

"The extent of land fit for agriculture, within a few miles of
the coast, far exceeds the expectations I had formed on my first
visit. Timber for dwelling-houses and for ship-building is
abundant and of the best description; and within five miles of
South Shore Head (the best site for a settlement) there is to be
found pipe-clay, brick-earth, ironstone, freestone, granite,
trap, slate, indications of coal; and, independent of a great
sup-ply of shells for lime on the immediate site, there is at the
head of one of the navigable salt creeks a fine freshwater stream
running over a bed of limestone...The position and extent of Port
Curtis, which I take to be the third harbour in importance in
these seas, inferior only to Port Jackson and Hobart Town, must
shortly lead to an establishment on its shore...The country is
capable of affording all the tropical as well as a considerable
portion of European produce, and will be found highly favourable
for the breeding of stock."

3. De Quiros, in his Memorials to the King, refers
specifically to one feature of the newly-discovered land which
finds no counterpart in Santo or the other islands of the New
Hebrides Group, but which is fully realised on the shores of Port
Curtis. This is "the marble quarries," from which (as De Quiros
adds) "sumptuous and elegant edifices could br, raised." Now, the
most sanguine champions of Santo have not as yet found the
slightest trace of marble there, whilst immense beds of marble
crop up to the surface along the coast and in the islands off the
coast at Port Curtis.

{Page 23}

As this is such a distinctive feature of the explored
territory around the harbour of Vera Cruz, it may be well to
recall a few passages that refer to it.

In a village that the explorers visited they found "a flute,
and certain small things worked out of pieces of marble and
jasper." Again, De Quiros writes: "It appeared to us that we saw
there quarries of good marble; 1 say good, because several things
were seen that were made of it and of jasper."

Of the natives it is said: "They work stone marble and make
flutes, etc."

And again we read: "The convenience of such excellent soil,
black, thick, and close, is that tiles and bricks may be
manufactured. This, combined with good quarries, will enable
large and sumptuous edifices to be built, the great abundance of
timber giving help. Many mills can be erected, the rivers having
such volume...The stone is fine, hard, and takes a polish. There
are also very good quarries as in Madrid."

Some of my critics have endeavoured to lessen the weight of
this argument by stating that the Gladstone marble is of inferior
quality, "As to the marble or limestone deposits (one writer
states), there is any quantity of it 14 miles from Glad-stone,
but it is not good as a rule, having too much lime scattered
through it. It is useless for mantelpieces, headstones, statues,
etc." Here, however, it is to be remarked that it is of marble
for building purposes that De Quiros speaks, and the more lime
the marble may have the better will it suit for such purposes.
All the marble quarries, however, in the Glad-stone district are
not of the same quality. One of them is known by the name of
Carrara, and has veins of the best quality of marble. An article
in the "Gladstone Advocate," under date February the 16th, 1901,
sets all difficulties at rest on this head, and proves to
conviction that in so far as this feature of the discovered land
is concerned, it harmonises perfectly with the Port Gladstone
district. It is as follows:

"It will be noticed that the existence of marble is not
denied. But that it is of an inferior quality we utterly refute.
We have frequently referred to the marble deposits of this
district. It is true that the deposits which form the bed and
steep bank of the Calliope River are inferior to deposits found
in other parts of the district, being, for the most part, a
breccia marble, the particles being fastened with an iron
cement,

{Page 24}

but it takes a beautiful polish and has a most variegated
appearance. These deposits are easily reached by way of the
river, The Calliope River crossing is paved with marble. There
are also large deposits on the Boyne River. But the locality is
rich in all varieties of this classic stone, from white statuary
marble almost equal to the finest Carrara, and the blackest of
black marbles, to the most variegated. It is not confined to one
spot, but abounds throughout the whole district. That it is of
good quality, and could be utilised for building, ornamental or
statuary purposes, we can aver, as we speak with some degree of
experience, and have before us as we write polished samples of
almost every description to be found in the district. That it can
be used to good purpose may be seen at any time if one likes to
examine the marble font in the Presbyterian Church, which is made
from local marble. The mantelpieces in the Queensland Parliament
House are also made from marble from the Gladstone district. A
table made from our marble was sent to the Paris Exhibition, and
the maker was awarded a silver medal. There are also monuments
and tombstones in our local cemetery. There are polished tablets
which have been exposed to the weather since 1858 as good in
appearance now as they were then, Samples of the marble and many
ornaments made from it were sent to the Indian and Colonial
Exhibition in 1886, and the exhibitor was

awarded a certificate and a medal. This is proof enough,
surely, of its quality. If De Quiros or any other navigator
sailed up the Calliope River, the mouth of which is a couple of
miles north of Auckland Inlet, on which Gladstone stands, he
could not miss the marble deposits there, but he might easily be
pardoned if he did not ascertain if there was any-thing of a
superior quality some distance away, or inquire into its quality.
The mere fact that there was marble would probably be sufficient
information for him."

4. Another common difficulty against the opinion which I have
adopted recalls to mind the fact that hitherto every writer on
the geography of the South Seas has regarded Santo as the Great
Southern Land discovered by De Quiros. It cannot but be
presumptuous, it is said, to advance an opinion contrary to such
a consensus of expert writers. Findlay, however, has well
remarked that in this matter geographers have, as a matter of
course, accepted without inquiry the statements of Captain

{Page 25}

Cook. He found that the degree of latitude assigned by De
Quiros harmonised with Santo, and he at once accepted its big bay
as the landing place of the great Spanish explorer. Probably not
one of the subsequent geographical writers knew anything of Santo
except what was set forth by Captain Cook, for the New Hebrides
were outside the ordinary track of navigation, and were but
little known till our own day; and, on the other hand, the
original sources of information regarding the discovery of De
Quiros were not available. The mountains of the Moon bordering on
the Sahara in Africa present a similar instance. A traveller some
200 years ago having referred to such a chain of mountains, each
subsequent geographer as-signed them their due position in the
African Continent. When Stanley penetrated Central Africa, no
such mountain range could be found, and it at once became evident
that they were mere moonshine. The identifying Santo with the
Great Southern Land was no less a delusion.

It is not accurate, however, to state that all geographers
have hitherto been agreed in assigning Santo as the Great Land
discovered by De Quiros. Our worthy Sydney citizen, Mr.
Collingridge (p. 305), reproduces the map of that Southern Land
published in 1752 by the geographer to the King of France, who
manifestly had access to original sources not generally
available. His map presents a fair outline of our Australian
Continent, and on its North-East coast, pretty well corresponding
to the position of Port Curtis, he marks the harbour of Vera
Cruz, discovered by De Quiros.

5. Some critics have remarked that although the Boyne of the
Queensland coast is a fair-sized river, yet it can have no claim
to be likened to the Guadalquivir (the very name of which implies
a "great river"), which for 60 miles of its course to the city of
Seville is navigable for the largest vessels. But we must attend
to the words of De Quiros. He expressly states that the river
which he discovered was as large as the Guadalquivir at Seville,
that is, 60 miles from its mouth. Beyond Seville, the
Guadalquivir is navigable only for smaller craft and little
frigates. The Boyne may justly be compared to it at that stage of
its course.

6. It only remains to consider the difficulty advanced by Mr.
Ernest Favenc, who, writing in the "Australian Journal of
Education" (September 1st, 1904), contends that the data
furnished

{Page 26}

by De Torres are irreconcilable with the claim of Port Curtis.
De Torres (he says) sailed from the newly-discovered harbour of
Vera Cruz on a south-westerly course till he reached the 27 deg.
of S. latitude, and then, veering his course to the N.W., came
upon the southern coast of New Guinea, and discovered the Strait
that bears his name. If we suppose him to start from Port Curtis
on such a course, he must have sailed through the Australian
Continent. In this statement of the case, however, it seems to me
that Mr. Favenc does not do justice to the genuine meaning of De
Torres's narrative. I interpret him to imply that he resolved to
continue the voyage where De Quiros had interrupted it at the 26
deg. South latitude, thus to carry out what he believed to be the
royal instructions. According to this interpretation, he sailed
some days along the Queensland coast, but finding the winds
unfavourable, proceeded to the latitude and longitude where. De
Quiros had abandoned the southern voyage. Thence De Torres sailed
towards the south to the 30 deg., and even passed that latitude
one degree on a south-east course. This would bring him
approximately to the longitude 163 deg. as marked on our maps.
Finding no land, he directed his course to the north-west, where
eventually he fell in with the southern coast of New Guinea. This
appears to be the natural meaning of the words of De Torres, and
the course of navigation which he would thus have pursued is
quite reconcilable with the fact that Fort Curtis was his
starting point. Mr. Collingridge (p. 234) calls attention to the
fact that De Torres speaks of the "mentioned latitude" and the
"said latitude" in a mysterious way, and remarks that the
accurate latitude "was, no doubt, purposely kept secret."

There is one feature of Mr. Favenc's diagram which it will be
well to bear in mind. He allows De Torres to proceed only to
about the 27 deg. on Ms S.W. course from Santo, and then marks
out his N.W. course to New Guinea. But De Torres's statement must
be our guide in marking out the course which he pursued, and he
tells us that he sailed S.W. till he reached the 3l deg. S.
latitude. Now, following out the diagram of Mr, Favenc, this
course would inevitably lead him to the Australian mainland.

7. Someone perhaps will say that there are far more than seven
islands lying off the coast of Keppel Bay. De Quiros,

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however, states: "At this port and bay are many excellent
islands, seven of which may be especially mentioned" Compare this
with Findlay's account of the Keppel Bay coast (p. 983). There
is, he tells us, the Capricorn group with three principal
islands; then the Bunker group, also with three islands. These
"occupy an extent of 54 miles nearly parallel with the coast."
Then comes Curtis Island, 25 miles in length. All these form as
if the outer barrier of the magnificent bay.

Bermudez further remarks that these seven islands are "in
sight of the port;" and that "nearly half-way there are other
known islands," All this is verified at Port Curtis, for Facing
Island, eight miles in length, and other smaller islands stand
midway between the port and Curtis Island, and thus all details
admirably fit in with the description given in the Spanish
narratives.

8. There remains one serious difficulty which affects, not the
territory, but the natives of the discovered, land. The various
narratives reckon the bow and arrow and wooden swords among their
weapons of war. Such weapons, however, were unknown to the
Queensland aboriginals when the territory was visited by Captain
Cook and subsequent explorers.

To this difficulty the distinguished Victorian geographer, Mr.
Panton to whom i have already referred has replied that the
Spaniards might easily have mistaken for arrows some of the
spears which are still in use among our aboriginals. Ile writes:
"Anyone who has ever seen a sheaf of reed spears would look upon
them as large arrows. The natives can throw them some 200 yards,
and they might very easily be mistaken for arrows by Spaniards
seeing them for the first time." This specially holds good when
the natives make use of the spear-rest. The same writer adds: As
to wooden swords, 1 would ask: Has anyone seen such a weapon in
Santo? In Australia some weapons do resemble swords. 1 have
several in my collection."

We may further remark, however, that those who have made a
study of, our 'aboriginals have come to the conclusion that more
than one wave of invasion from the Java and the Malay Peninsula
must have swept over parts of Australia. In-dependent even of
this; we may readily suppose that during the 200 years that
elapsed between the discovery of De Quiros and the British
occupation of Australia, many unrecorded vicissitudes may live
occurred. The tribes from the mountains may

{Page 28}

have pressed upon the natives inhabiting the coast and
compelled them to take refuge in the islands scattered
through-out the Torres Strait and in New Guinea. In these islands
the bow and arrow have long been in constant use. Macgillivray,
in "Voyage of the Rattlesnake"( p. 296), when engaged in the
exploration of the Islands of Torres Straits off Cape York,
writes that the natives there "readily parted with the bows and
arrows, of which they had a very large supply." With the
vicissitudes of the natives, however, we are not primarily
dealing at present. We are considering the unchanging features of
the land discovered by De Quiros. These are inconsistent with the
island of Santo, and are found to harmonise satisfactorily with
Port Curtis and the adjacent Queensland territory.

VI.

De Quiros had won his laurels as an explorer in the islands of
the Pacific towards the close of the 16th century. And now one
grand project engrossed his thoughts. He would discover the Great
Southern Land, and would rival the glory of Columbus by bringing
new nations under the salutary influence of religion. But how
could he secure the approval of the Spanish Government for a
scheme which to many seemed visionary and elusive?

It was the Jubilee year, 1600. Pilgrims from every part of
Europe were flocking to Rome. He, too, would take the pilgrim's
staff, and whilst in Rome he might perhaps enlist the Pontiff's
sympathy for his enterprise.

In the volumes of the Hakluyt Society now published by Sir
Clements Markham (London, 1904) we have from De Quiros himself
the narrative of his pilgrimage. He landed in the month of
August, 1600, in the territory of Genoa, and thence, "dressed as
a pilgrim," traversed on foot several of the finest cities of
Italy, where he remarks, "there was much to see and to
notice."

Arriving in Rome, he was well received by the Spanish
Ambassador. On the 28th of August he partook of the mid-day meal
with the boor pilgrims, and in the afternoon had an audience of
the Pontiff, Clement VIII., who listened attentively to his plans
and commended his zeal and earnestness.

The most eminent astronomers and geographers in the Eternal
City were invited to consider the project of De Quiros. In those
days, as in later times, the most learned scientists

{Page 29}

of Europe made Rome their home. Among them was the German,
Christopher Clavius, who taught mathematics in Rome for 20 years
and was employed by Pope Gregory XIII. in the correction of the
Calendar. He, with Toribio Perez, who had taught geography at
Salamanca, and the learned Jesuit Villapando and others, examined
and approved the project of De Quiros. As a result, Clement VIII.
gave him commendatory letters for the Spanish Monarch, and
granted many privileges and indulgences to those who would engage
in his enterprise. De Quiros refers particularly to a particle of
the wood of the Cross which was given to him by His Holiness, but
which, he tells us, he obtained with very great difficulty. Sir
C. Markham writes that the Pope's influence secured his success.
Within a year he had obtained a royal order, through the Council
of State, addressed to the Viceroy of Peru, instructing that
dignitary to fit out two ships at Callao, to enable Quiros to
undertake an expedition for the discovery of the Antarctic
Continent."

Many difficulties, however, had yet to be overcome, and it was
not till the month of December, 1605, that two ships and a zabra,
or launch, were consigned at Callao to De Quiros for his glorious
enterprise. The ship chosen for the captain him-self was named
San Pedro y Sari Pablo, and was of 150 tons. The second ship was
named San Pedro, 120 tons. The launch was named Los Tres
Reyes.

With the details of the voyage we are not now concerned.
Suffice it to say that on the 1st of May, in 1606, they entered a
magnificent bay, and spread out before them was what De Quiros
believed to be the grand continent of which he was in search. Two
days later, as they sailed down the bay, they discovered a safe
port in which a thousand ships could find anchorage. It was
situated between two rivers, which supplied them with delicious
fresh water, and they called it the port of Vera Cruz, from the
feast of Holy Cross on which it was discovered. On the following
days the coasts were explored, and the captain used every effort,
but in vain, to engage in friendly relations with the
natives.

Pentecost Sunday (10th May) was now at hand. On the eve all
was joy and festivity on board the vessels, for next day would
witness the solemn taking possession of the newly discovered
land. A special order of Knights of the Holy Ghost

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was instituted in honour of the event. The camp master and an
armed party attended to the preparations on shore. A small fort
was equipped with four pieces of cannon. A temporary church was
dedicated, under the invocation of Our Lady of Loreto, and in it
an altar with a canopy was erected, adorned with palm branches
and flowers. Masses were said at an early hour, and the whole
expedition, officers and men, approached Holy Communion with the
intent of gaining the Jubilee Indulgence granted them by Pope
Clement VIII, High Mass was sung by the Father Commissary.

Two special facts are commemorated. The Father Commissary and
his five Franciscan companions, barefooted and kneeling on the
beach, received, at the hands of De Torres, the second in
command, a large cross, "made of the orange wood of the country,"
in which was inserted the Relic of Holy Cross which the captain
had received in Rome. This was borne aloft and all in procession,
singing the "Lignum Crucis," advanced to. the church door, where
the cross, with all solemnity, was set in a pedestal, and the
captain announced in six distinct proclamations his taking
possession of the newly-discovered land in the name of the
Catholic Church, in the name of His Majesty the King, etc.

The second event was at the close of the High Mass. I. will
describe it in the words of De Quiros's secretary: "The three
ensigns, who now held the banners in their hands, inclined them
to the ground in front of the altar, the Royal En-sign holding
the royal standard. The Commissary blessed them with great
solemnity; and at a certain signal that was given to the ships,
whose mast-head banners displayed the Royal Arms and at the sides
the two columns (symbols of the Spanish power) and the plus
ultra, with the streamers fluttering; fired off all their guns
with full charges; the soldiers discharged muskets and
arquebuses, and the gunners sent off rockets and fire-wheels. In
the middle of al-I this noise, all shouted with almost infinite
joy, and many times, Long Live the Faith of Christ. And with this
the celebration of the festival came to an end."

The next care of De Quiros was to institute and inaugurate a
municipality to control the destinies of the future city. It is
pleasing to find among the appointed magistrates a name which at
the present day is highly honoured throughout Queensland, Julian
Real.

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The festival of Corpus Christi was kept with due solemnity on
the 21st of May. It was regarded by the Spaniards as "the first
festival celebrated in honour of the Most High Lord iii these
strange and unknown lands."

The secretary of De Quiros gives a minute and detailed
description of this beautiful feast.

On the 20th of May the camp master, with a hundred soldiers,
went on shore to adorn the church, and to mark our the streets
for the procession. Before daybreak on the 21st all were ashore.
The church was "bravely decorated" with green branches. The altar
in particular was richly ornamented; a large oil-painting of the
Crucifixion served as the altar-piece, the candles were lighted
and the incense burning.

There were three high triumphal arches, enlaced with palms,
branches of fruit trees and flowers; the ground was also strewn
with flowers. The streets were formed with a variety of trees,
and at two angles, under two other arches, were erected two
altars of repose with their canopies; on these altars were the
images of St. Peter and St. Paul.

In the Church three Masses were celebrated. The day was clear
and serene, and as the sun rose over the crowns of the trees, its
rays entering through the branches, the difference in the fruits
of each plant was shown in great profusion. Here, too, could be
heard the persistence with which the birds sang and chanted; the
leaves and branches were seen to move gently, and the whole place
was agreeable, fresh, shady, with a gentle air moving, and the
sea smooth."

The order of procession is minutely described. A soldier went
first, holding aloft the heavy cross of orange wood. Next came a
lay brother bearing a gilt cross, attended by Acolytes and
Thurifer, all wearing red cassocks and surplices. Then followed
the three companies in order, each one bearing its banner in the
centre; with its drums sounding a march. As was usual in the
Spanish processions, there was a picturesque sword-dance by
eleven sailor lads, dressed in red and green silk, with bells on
their feet. "They danced with much dexterity and grace, to the
sound of a guitar, which was played by a respected old sailor."
This was followed by another dance per-formed "by eight boys, all
dressed like Indians in shirts and breeches of silk, coloured
brown, blue, and grey, with garlands on their heads and white
palms in their hands. Bands of bells

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were around their ankles, and they danced with very quiet
countenances, at the same time singing their canticles to the
sound of tambourines and flutes played by two musicians."

Six Magistrates preceded the Celebrant, each with a lighted
torch in his hand. The Father Commissary, attended by the other
Priests, officiated; the canopy of yellow silk, six yards long,
was borne by three royal officers and three Magistrates; and the
"Pange Lingua" was joyfully sung. After the canopy the Royal
Standard was borne by the Ensign, attended by two, Justices of
the Peace and the chief constable.

As soon as the canopy appeared outside the church "all the
bells rang, and the people who were looking on attentively fell
on their knees; the Ensigns lowered the banners three times, the
drummers beat the drums for battle; the soldiers, who had the
cords ready, fired off the muskets and arquebuses; the constables
fired off the guns which were on shore for de-fending the port;
and in the ships the artillerymen fired off the bombards and
pieces, and those placed in the launch and boats for the
occasion. Once more, and once again, they were discharged. When
the smoke cleared away, there were seen amongst the green
branches so many plumes of feathers and sashes, so many pikes,
halberds, javelins, bright sword-blades, spears, lances, and on
the breasts so many crosses and so much gold, and so many colours
and silken dresses, that many eyes could not contain what sprung
from the heart, and they shed tears of joy. With this the
procession returned, the church being guarded by four corps de
garde. The dancers kept dancing to keep up the festival, and
remained within; and the captain at the door said to them: "All
the dresses you wear, you can keep as your own, for they are from
the Royal Treasury; I would that they were of the best and
richest brocade."

To bring the ceremonies to a close a fourth Mass was said to
satisfy the devotion of the sentries "who were posted to keep a
look-out for any approach of the natives, though they were far
off on the beach and on the hills."

The narrative adds that, "having given the soul such sweet and
delicious food," the tables were now laid under the shade of tall
and spreading trees, where all were gladdened with a welcome and
joyous repast.

Thus were brought to a close the first festive celebrations
which marked the discovery of our Australian Continent.